About us

Québec has been a French colony and society since 1599 for over 150 years, almost as long as Canada has been a country. QC became part of the British Empire in 1759, by military defeat; then by being associated with Lower Canada in 1840 by colonial decision, following another military defeat; then, in 1867, as one of the 4 founding provinces of Canada, and still as a member of the Empire.

There was no referendum at any of these 3 stages. So, French as a language of use has been a constant war first against, then from within, an empire that usually left little room for languages other than English. For an overview of the historical struggle for French in Quebec, see the video La protection de la langue française 1945-1980 by Récit univers universel.

That said, it is generally recognized that one of the goals of Confederation for Francophones, a goal accepted by the other English-speaking provinces, was to have a majority French-speaking society in Quebec - the only one in the British Empire - that would have the motivation and political power to promote the language of the majority.

The federal structure adopted at the time of Confederation enabled French-speaking Canadians to form the numerical majority of the population of the province of Quebec, and thus to exercise the considerable provincial powers conferred by the Constitution Act, 1867 in a way that promoted their language and culture. Supreme Court of Canada 1998 Secession Reference, paragraph 59.

It is wrong to see Confederation as a project to put English on an equal footing with French in Quebec. And it's wrong to deny that one of the legitimate goals of Confederation was to enable QC to take the necessary steps to preserve both this French-speaking majority and the French character of Quebec. To deny these two facts is to want to rewrite history, even if the patriation was an attempt to do so, at least in part.

Symbolism takes up a lot of space in Canada. Personally, I'm not interested in the symbolism of languages, I'm interested in their actual use. I believe that French should be the common language, i.e., the main language used in Quebec. There are two major obstacles. The first is the global hegemony of English. We have to accept this reality, without losing our motivation to use French as much as possible. The second is an institutional system that limits Quebec's room for manoeuvre and can undermine the motivation to use French for a significant part of the population.

I believe in a single public school system in Quebec, as are the public school systems of our neighbors in the USA, or of Canada's so-called founding countries, France and the United Kingdom (UK). I'm opposed to our current public school system, which is segregated on the basis of language. A single system doesn't mean not learning English, whether it's for more instrumental purposes for Francophones (to become bilingual) and allophones (to become bilingual or even trilingual), or for more identity-related purposes for Anglophones who want to ensure the vitality of their culture. The federal government could very well play a major financial role in such a system, to support the learning of English as a second language in this single public system, and abandon its current role which encourages, in an anglophone school system separate from the public school system of francophones and allophones, the learning of English as the main language and French only as a foreign or second language.

I believe that the current system encourages a significant minority to exclude themselves from Quebec society. In today's jargon it is divisive and non-inclusive. It is at the root of many of the current linguistic conflicts in Quebec. If there's one society in the world where the language of the principal minority doesn't need special protection, it's Quebec: the language of this minority, English, is also the language of the majority in Canada and America, and moreover is the language that is becoming hegemonic throughout the world. Today's Canadian federalism should be flexible, but often hasn't been. Why seek, and how to achieve, such a single school system is a theme that will recur frequently on this site.

Note to readers:
Some friends have asked me to clarify for you the following points, which I am happy to do:
1- This site comments on linguistic and political issues, but not from a partisan political point of view. I am not now, and have never been, a member of any political party. On can favor french, whether federalist or sovereignist.
2- I have parents of French-speaking (what used to be called French-Canadian) and English-speaking (Irish) origin, and I spent my early years in Ontario. I worked for a long time in a head office where the working language was English. I know English and English-speaking people VERY well. I admire individuals who master both languages, and I favor a single French public education system that maintains an important place for the teaching of English especially, but not only, for children of English-speaking parents.
3- I love English so much that (real) friends kindly pointed out to me the significant number of anglicisms and grammatical errors that crept into my first texts in the french version of my blog. With the help of the Antidote software that I intend to master, the error rate in the french texts should decrease over time. Readers of the english version: no need to worry.
4- To summarize my thinking, Quebec is a small island in America characterized by its French language and heritage. This past, combined with the English/American influence, has made Quebec a distinct society. The Meech Lake Accord had chosen the right expression. The promotion of French is, in my opinion, essential to maintain this distinct society; Quebec is the last place in America where French and English should be treated on the same level.

The origin of the site's name stems from a symbolic, not substantive, federal practice of starting meetings with a warm Bonjour in French, accompanied by an invitation to speak French at all times, followed at the end by words of thanks, still in French and still warm. In between, the real business is done in English. All it takes is one unilingual English speaker to dictate what happens next.

Despite recent reports noting the decline of French across Canada, the Canadian public service continues to be dominated by English...there's no way out. Unless something drastic changes, the "bilingual" meetings I attend will continue to be a sham containing only two French words, "bonjour" and "merci". I'm only at the beginning of my career, but I'm already worn out by this constant battle. How many complaints will I have to file with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages? Anna Pellerin-Petrova, Dérives linguistiques dans la fonction publique canadienne, 8 2 2023 Le Devoir

I'm not blaming anyone. For many people, symbols are important. But we mustn't mix symbolism with reality. Canada could have chosen to be and function as a bilingual country in its early days. For historical reasons, it did not. Few countries do, and most of those that do, do so on a territorial basis (one dominant language per region). Since then, immigration and English-language school systems have done their work, and it's utopian to claim that Canada can make such a choice today.

The song Bonjour-Merci by the group Arcadian (who, despite their name, were not Acadian, but Franco-Swiss), which we invite our readers to listen to, reminds us of the difficulty for Francophones of living in a Bonjour-Merci environment.

Tu dis "bonjour" tu dis "merci"
T'es toujours à l'heure au bureau
Le bien aimable, bien poli
On te prend jamais en défaut...
Un jour tu diras "stop"
T'inverseras les règles
Tu claqueras cette porte
Pour en ouvrir une nouvelle.

La protection de la langue française 1945-1980 by Récit univers universel.

Loi constitutionnelle de 1867

Renvoi sur la sécession

Anna Pellerin-Petrova , Dérives linguistiques dans la fonction publique canadienne, 8 2 2023 Le Devoir

Bonjour-Merci from band Arcadian